-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Parts of the Eastern United States on Friday fended off freezing rain and snow as a powerful winter storm lumbered through the Great Lakes , driving thunderstorms eastward .

The National Weather Service predicted the storm would affect the Upper Midwest , Great Lakes and the Northeast , with blizzard conditions in Minnesota and Iowa and strong winds across a portion of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley .

Severe storms -- with wind and large hail -- were possible from Boston to Miami , said CNN meteorologist Sherri Pugh .

Frozen conditions may have been a factor in a crash early Friday in Maine that left a driver dead . An SUV driver lost control of the vehicle while it was traveling on a snow-covered stretch in Somerville and slammed into a big rig , the Lincoln County Sheriff 's Office said .

Several New York-area airports -- LaGuardia , Kennedy and Newark in northern New Jersey -- were experiencing ground delays as of 6 p.m , due to limited visibility , the Federal Aviation Administration reported online .

The wild weather also brought strong winds to parts of the Southeast and mid-Atlantic , though that threat was over by evening .

Before then , the weather service reported two possible tornadoes early Friday afternoon in south-central Georgia , including one in Johnson County that damaged 12 buildings , including ripping the front doors off a fire station .

There was also an EF0 tornado -- indicating 65 to 85 mph winds lasting three seconds or more -- in Compton , Maryland , 60 miles southeast of Washington , D.C.

Heavy winds also downed trees in Kentucky , North Carolina , South Carolina and Virginia , while up to quarter-size hail was reported on Florida 's Atlantic coast around St. Augustine .

This all came on the heels of severe storms that struck Illinois late Thursday afternoon , knocking out power , damaging buildings and spawning floods , the National Weather Service reported .

On Thursday night , storms and high winds swept across Tennessee , pelting Nashville with rain and hail and leaving thousands in the dark .

In Illinois , damaging wind and golf ball-size hail were reported overnight . About 24,000 people in the state lost power , according to utility Ameren Illinois .

Effingham and Champaign counties in Illinois reported flooding .

`` We have some power lines down and a little water in the road in some places , '' said Pam Jacobs , director of the Effingham County Emergency Management Agency .

John Dwyer , emergency management coordinator for Champaign County , reported road flooding and standing water in farm fields . He said the flooding was caused by 3 inches of rain Thursday coupled with the snow melt . The National Weather Service said radar indicated rainfall of 3 to 4 inches per hour .

The Illinois State Police reported that fog caused a wreck on Interstate 57 in northeast Illinois , involving at least 27 vehicles . Authorities said they received reports of injuries , none of them life-threatening .

As the storm moved eastward , winds knocked down dozens of trees in Nashville , reported CNN affiliate WSMV-TV . The station said trained weather spotters reported 1-inch hail and 95-mph winds .

CNN 's Ed Payne , Greg Botelho and Ralph Ellis contributed to this report .

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NEW : Low visibility causes ground delays at three New York-area airports

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NEW : Possible tornadoes touch down in Georgia , Maryland

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NEW : High winds strike parts of the Southeast , mid-Atlantic

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Storm is expected to affect the Upper Midwest , Great Lakes and Northeast